


Case #0012212 Insignificant

by voidix



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, I’m Arab and I hate Dubai that’s why it is like that, The Eye, the vast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28029462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidix/pseuds/voidix
Summary: Statement of Elliot - no last name again - regarding what he presumed was a lost child during his job as an underwater guide. Statement given on the 2nd of March 2012. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, head archivist at The Magnus Institute, London
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Case #0012212 Insignificant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SurpassTheStars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SurpassTheStars/gifts).



> Hey Moon  
> Happy belated Birthday!! I wrote something for you hope you like it. Sorry it took so long med school is killing me.
> 
> cw: human insignificance, deep sea, sharks, being watched, memory of embarrassing situations

“Statement of Elliot - no last name again - regarding what he presumed was a lost child during his job as an underwater guide. Statement given on the 2nd of March 2012. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, head archivist at The Magnus Institute, London”

“Statement begins”

“So Simon told me I should be wary of giving the eye my statement but honestly why does he care. If in the end nothing matters then it won’t matter if I tell you my story or not. I wasn’t actually planning to tell you but now I am out of spite. For an old man who says he doesn’t care about anything he sure likes to set up weird policies. Anyway, that’s not what I’m here.

This story is actually about my time working as an underwater guide in Dubai. Now you might be confused about what I do. Well, you would not believe all the things rich people pay to experience. And well, Dubai is full of them.  
Now some of those activities are pretty well-known others not so. My job included being the tour guide on a submarine. The machine would take a group of people to a nearby shipwreck. At least that was the scheduled root sometimes there would be… unexpected detours. 

Now you might be asking yourself why someone like me would even want a job. Of course, Simon is a generous sponsor but like I mentioned before he has his weird policies. Besides relying on someone else means they’re significant to you and we want to avoid that as much as possible you know? 

Now Dubai offers a wide variety of activities where the talents of mine could be of use. There is, of course, the Burj Khalifa the tallest building in the entire world but I feel like that would’ve been the predictable choice and we don’t want you to get bored now do we. And besides the depth of the sea haven proven themselves to be quite as humbling as the vast heights of the sky.

We were stationed at the Persian Gulf. Did you know over there they call it the Arabic Gulf? I’m sure you did. This just goes to show that even neighbors like the two countries don’t matter to each other and everyone is on their own but that’s more your own sponsor’s department now is it?

Anyway, it was December and Christmas time so tourist season. It was the last group of the day and I was relieved. Sure, seeing the people’s fear once they realize the crushing pressure of the ocean above them and how they’d crumble under it in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the metal box that they are trapped in for their own safety that can appear so fragile at times was quite the satisfying experience. And don’t get me wrong the horror in their eyes, at the view of the wreck when they become aware of just how small and insignificant humankind is compared to the wrath of raging winds and furious waves and how no matter what we do we are nothing compared to the ill-tempered forces of nature, is its own reward. But you see dealing with rich people is physically exhausting. Setting their worth above everyone else just because they have higher numbers on their back account screen than others, not realizing that in the end, this won’t save them when the world decides to turn on us.

I’d apologize for going off-topic again but the truth is that you should thank since this is what feeds you after all and the more the merrier right?

Now, this last group of people seemed normal at first. At least as normal as pretentious wannabe royalties can be. They were boarding the submarine slowly taking pictures at every step when most of the backgrounds looked exactly the same.

At the end of the queue, I spotted a girl. She couldn’t have been older than 11. It was strange that nobody but I was noticing the child standing alone at the end of the line, seemingly blending in and standing out at the same time. She looked like she was waving at someone I couldn’t see. This annoyed me for multiple reasons. 1: NEVER bring your children to underwater excursions. They’ll complain and cry about the change in pressure the entire time. 2: No adult seemed to be supervising. 

When I got closer I realized she wasn’t waving at someone at all. The girl who looked like she had white hair was waving in the direction of one of the security cameras. Now children do that a lot. I don’t understand the appeal of being perceived by those electric eyes of mass surveillance but you of all people know there is an audience for that. The issue was the security camera in question was very well hidden. I had worked there for half a year now and even then I kept forgetting it existed. There is no way a random girl who , I noticed later, was wearing glasses could have known it was there. 

I needed to find her parents. Don’t get me wrong I couldn’t care less about what happened to her. However, while they would not matter in the future, lawsuits are sadly still significant right now and I’m sure Simon wouldn’t be happy if I asked him for support in a legal battle against some rich Arab oil company CEO. And trust me those people loved lawsuits especially when it came to their hell spawns. 

Carefully I tapped her shoulder to not startle her but she didn’t seem surprised by my presence at all.

“Hello, my dear I’m Elliot what’s your name?”

When she turned around to face me her eyes immediately got my attention. They were grey? Or blue? Or purple? I couldn’t be sure and the longer I looked at them the more they confused me. It didn’t help that they were moving around like a hypnotic pendant.

“Hana.”

She replied, jolting me out of my trance. Her expression became even more playful than they were before. The way she said the name had a certain energy to it. I knew she was lying and she knew that as well. It seemed like some kind of challenge.

“Where are your parents?”

Clearly, this wasn’t a question she had expected which is weird since it’s one if not the first question you receive in this kind of situation. She looked focused for a second but as soon as it disappeared her playful smile came back. I felt like I could even detect a degree of smugness.

“What does it matter to you?”

Now I was the startled one. For whatever reason, the reply took me aback. It felt like I was standing naked on stage, with an audience just waiting for a reason to point and laugh. In reality, however, it was just this little girl that used my moment of hesitation to board the submarine without interference.

The tour went mostly as usual. Thankfully there were no other children on board so there was no unnecessary noise. The entire time though I felt watched. It made sense of course. I was a guide in front of at least 20 people and they were all here to watch the sea and listen to what I have to say. Of course, their eyes would be on me, right? I had done it thousands of times before without issues. Why was I getting stage fright now? It’s not like I forgot my text or anything. Hell, it should be part of my muscle memory by now or whatever that’s called. And yet I kept stumbling over my words like I was giving a presentation in front of the class completely unprepared while the teacher gave me unsatisfied looks. 

Eventually, the sea carried me back on track. As you have seen it can be quite mesmerizing to me, making me overcome my sudden case of stage fright. While the hyper-awareness of being watched, being perceived never fully left it did get milder. At the beginning of the tour, Hana’s eyes stayed fixated on me but the more we went on the more she kept getting distracted. It was a relief but also bewildering.

At the sight of tragedy and devastation that is a sunken shipwreck that made the others afraid , she looked in awe. At the sight of destruction and loss where the human instinct is to look away, her eyes seemed hooked. Although it took the anxiety off my back it was kind of unsettling, to be honest. I’d be hypocritical to judge now, wouldn’t I?

Anyway, we had gotten to the best part. Our little “detour” is how I like to call it. You might not know, which would honestly surprise me, but the Persian Gulf has its own shark population. And it’s not those little ones either no tiger and bull sharks that can grow up to 4 meters. Compared to that we humans are just tiny little strands of insignificance. There is no greater humbling experience than being faced with an entity that should it want to it could end your miserable existence in a second before you could produce a sound to cry for help. 

Even if they didn’t always admit or show it, the people got scared. You would notice them moving closer together, some even closing their eyes. Their fear would be oh so delicious. This time would be no different. Once we entered shark territory I began to feel the fear growing stronger. Couples or friend groups moving closer together, holding onto each other tighter. An older woman in the corner looked like she would have fainted if she wasn’t in a state of shock.

Not Hana. She was looking at the creatures with fascination. Her eyes following their every move. Why wasn’t she afraid like everyone else? If this was part of the tour I’d understand but for all this girl knew these sharks showed up randomly, possibly with malicious intent. 

I probably should’ve looked away because a second later her eyes were on me, the anxiety returning this time more overwhelming than before. I wanted to hide to escape her perception but there was nowhere to go. The submarine had become my prison as well.

“Is something wrong Elliot?” 

The question brought me back to kindergarten when I was caught red-handed pushing another kid off the swing. 

“Aren’t you afraid?” 

I asked, trying to sound as calm and composed as I could. I couldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing I was afraid.

“No. Why would I be? You’ve been here before right? And you aren’t afraid, are you?”

Her smile widened while finishing her sentence. The question was purely rhetorical. She knew I was afraid and she was enjoying every minute of it.

“You’re Strange”

That is all I said before breaking eye contact with her. Hana giggled. I’m sure under different circumstances one could find that giggle cute but at that moment it just motivated me to end the tour and get out of there as soon as possible.

Like before Hana was a the end of the queue being the last to exit the vehicle. When she passed me she giggled again while waving first at the hidden camera and then at me. 

“Had a lot of fun today. I’ll see you again!”

She said while skipping away like a carefree little girl that is unaware of the horrors this world has to offer. I couldn’t be bothered to try and understand whatever she had said I was just glad it was over and I’d probably never meet her ever again. 

The next time I returned to work something felt off. Every time I passed the hidden camera it felt like it was watching me. Like the lens’s entire focus was directed at me. No matter what corner I stood in, no matter what angle I tried, the feeling of being watched never went away. 

Finally, after 3 months I couldn’t take it any longer and asked my boss to remove the camera from its spot. Something about no signs signaling there is cameras would be an invasion of privacy or something I don’t really remember. I remember him looking at me in bewilderment.

“Oh, that one? Don’t worry about it Elliot this camera was taken down last December anyway since it started malfunctioning around Christmas.”

He said reassuringly. There was no way. Simply none. Every time I passed that dam place is feel like the eye itself was staring at my soul. I did not believe him until he took apart the wall where the camera once was revealing an empty cement cavity. Needless to say, I quit on the spot.”

“Statement ends”

“Tim tried his best to follow up this statement but since it’s an overseas incident there is not much to be done. We did notice that this is the second time this Elliot with no last name appeared in a statement in connection with the sea. Sasha’s only comment was that the girl seemed quite nice and that technology is weird like that sometimes. It appears she still can’t properly log in to use her computer I hope she gets that fixed soon”

“End recording.”

**Author's Note:**

> Heyy I hope you enjoyed our avatarsona’s interacting i hope it’s not too OOC and I hope you like it.
> 
> I love you!!!


End file.
